Photo: (left to right) Foothill Gold Line Chief Project and Planning Officer Chris Burner, CEO Habib F. Balian, Office Manager Nathalie Griffiths and Submittals Manager Margaux Vogel with the four proposals submitted for the construction manager contract

The ongoing effort to ready the 2.3-mile Pomona to Claremont A Line Extension for construction reached a major milestone this week, when bids were received by four teams wishing to compete to be the project’s construction manager (or contractor). The bids were in response to a Request for Proposals (RFP) released in February, following a successful industry review period of the draft RFP that was completed late last year.

The construction manager contract is the second of two contracts to be awarded to deliver the Pomona to Claremont A Line Extension (which will add a new Metro A Line station in Claremont) through the “Construction Manager at Risk” (CMAR) delivery method. The first contract, awarded in January to Parsons, was for design and engineering services.

The construction manager proposals will now be distributed to several evaluation committees for review and scoring. They will be judged on their experience, personnel and performance history; their management approach; how they intend to handle working in a complex right-of-way corridor with Metrolink/SCRRA; and their approach to light rail systems, as well as their pricing approach.

The Construction Authority expects to have a recommendation for the board to consider for contract award at next month’s meeting.

How Two Teams Will Work Together to Ready and Build the Pomona to Claremont A Line Extension

The design/engineering effort by Parsons has been underway since award of the contract earlier this year. The initial design work in the first few months is focused on underground utilities and drainage, but over the contract’s first two years, Parsons will design all elements of the 2.3-mile light rail extension from its current design level of approximately 30% to “Approved for Construction” drawings.

After the construction manager is hired (anticipated in May), the winning contractor team will initially work alongside Parsons to provide constructability reviews, value engineering, third party coordination and cost estimating during the design phase. Once the project reaches about 85% design (anticipated in mid-2027), the construction manager will have the possibility of building the project if the team successfully negotiates a construction services contract with an acceptable price. Assuming a successful bid for the construction work, it is expected that major construction will begin in late 2027/early 2028 and take about four years to complete to Claremont. During construction, Parsons will continue to support the project with any needed design services.

Third-Party Utility Work Underway

In anticipation of the Pomona to Claremont A Line Extension moving forward to major construction starting as early as late next year, the Construction Authority has been coordinating with third-party utilities to schedule any work needed within the rail corridor ahead of the project. Charter Spectrum is the first of several utilities we expect to conduct work ahead of major construction beginning.

As shown in the photos above, Charter Spectrum is currently working to underground overhead communication lines below Towne Ave. in Pomona. While we are coordinating these activities ahead of the project, the individual utilities are fully responsible for all elements of conducting the work.